… and I don’t mean in a “take it out for a nice dinner and buy it two martinis” kind of date.
I mean, in a how can you tell what year your Balenciaga bag was made way.
In a time when buying vintage Balenciaga is on the rise, it’s important to know if you’re getting the real “vintage” deal.
It can become a little complicated to find out what year your Balenciaga bag was made.
… but here’s how you can figure it out.
(FYI, there’s a TLDR that I moved to the end.)
Before we start, when I refer to F/W or S/S, that means Fall/Winter or Spring/Summer respectively and includes ‘pre-season’ bags as well.
Also please note that the tag is sometimes the easiest way to authenticate a Balenciaga bag, but it’s also the smallest part.
I’m only covering Nicolas Ghesquière’s Balenciaga, because I don’t agree with the recent creative directors’ ethics and/or extracurricular activities… and Nicolas’ were the original motorcycle bags anyways.
Metal Plate Tags
This is the easiest way to find out what year the Balenciaga bag was made.
From F/W 03 (D) onwards, bags had a metal plate* tag.
On the metal plate, after the item’s number there is a letter.
That letter corresponds to what year your bag was made.
Under that line, is the Style Number/Code to identify the style of bag — City (115748), First (103208), Weekender (110506), or, from F/W 05 (Z) on, Work (132110).
Only select bags* have metal plate tags — if you see a small leather good with a metal tag, it is fake.
Regarding dating on metal tags, it goes beyond the letter on the tag…
Styling of “Balenciaga Paris”
Up until F/W 05 (Z), the tags read Balenciaga_Paris.
Then, from S/S 06 (Y), the tags would read Balenciaga.Paris.
Until F/W 08 (S), the tags were made from real sterling silver and they had a stamp on them to prove that.
*Besace (only F/W 03), City, First, Weekender, and Work (from F/W 05 (Z)) — all other bags, small leather goods, and “male” bags only have leather tags (“male” bags also have pewter/silver hardware). Special edition City, First, or Weekender bags sometimes only have a leather tag.
Hardware
Starting in F/W 02, Third Season, Balenciaga introduced “raised” hardware.
Raised hardware (RHW), is like the classic motorcycle bags that you think of when you think “Balenciaga motorcycle bag.”
From S/S 03 (no letter tags) until S/S 04 (C), all hardware was pewter (or silver) hardware.
With exceptions here and there, going forward from F/W 04 (B) all bags had brass hardware.
Want the 411 on all Balenciaga Bag styles…?
Rivets
So “rivets” are the back part of the studs that epitomize a Balenciaga motorcycle bag.
To tell how old your bag is, the easiest tell are the rivets.
From the very first Balenciaga bags until F/W 04 (B), the rivets were smooth at the back.
Including F/W 05 (Z), the rivets are notched.
S/S 05 (A) was a mix of both smooth and rivets with a notch on them.
Zipper
The very earliest Balenciaga bags used YKK zippers, but later moved onto Lampo zippers.
If you find a bag with a YKK zipper and you’re confident it’s authentic, congratulations — you hit the vintage Bal jackpot and should take your winnings and leave the casino ASAP (i.e, check out of that website quickly).
Until F/W 03 (D) the Lampo branding on the underside of the zipper was a zippier kind of font face.
Then, in S/S 04 (C) they want to an autograph style.
Mirror
We don’t really know why Nicolas Ghesquière decided to add a mirror to his bags, but he did!
From S/S 02 (Second Season), all Balenciaga bags included a mirror without a pocket.
From F/W 03 (D), the mirrors had a pocket.
… until F/W 08 (S), when the mirrors became pocketless again.
Note: Only “woman” bags include mirrors.
”made in italy”
Post-2011, the “made in italy” stamp on the back of the tag is all in upper case.
Like I’ve said before, I collect vintage Balenciaga largely to appease my teenage self.
Actually, almost everything I do in life is to spoil the part of my heart that’s still sitting on the patio at Da Silvano with a plate of rigatoni focaccia in 2007.
Sure, this light obsession borders on pathetic, but…
Within these bags is a return to the frivolity; sense that anything is possible; a lightheartedness that only youth can harness.
… because with enough time, patience, and a subscription to The Real Real First Look, beautiful Balenciaga bags can be yours.
If you have any questions, please feel free to follow & DM me on Instagram — I’m always down to talk about vintage Balenciaga!
Note: newinspired uses affiliate links which costs you nothing… but means a lot to me. When you use these links, the money newinspired earns gets reinvested in blog content. Absolutely nothing on newinspired is “gifted” or sponsored, I purchase each item with my own money. Affiliate commissions are used to purchase new items to honestly & thoroughly review. If you found this review helpful, consider using them to support newinspired.
All of this information was compiled from years of research and a lot of time spent on The Purse Forum.
TLDR
Mirror: Pocketless from F/W 08 (S)
Rivets: Notched after S/S 05 (A), which was a mix of both
Tag: Metal tags, Balenciaga _ Paris, until F/W 05 (Z)
Balenciaga . Paris, after F/W 05 (Z)
Metal Tag: Stirling silver stamp until F/W 08 (S)
NB: Later tags also include a colour code that indicates exactly what colour your bag is — this is helpful especially for leather tagged bags… which I’m relatively useless at figuring out what year they were made.
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